Zeng Min went to the main room, took the basket she had brought with her when she arrived, and took it into her parents' room, intending to give the things she had brought to her mother.

"Mom, look, this is fabric, for making clothes for you, Dad, and your brothers. This is a jar of malted milk powder, which your son-in-law bought. And here is a packet of peanut nougat, all for you two old folks to nourish your bodies."

"Don't be reluctant to eat it. The sugar and malted milk powder have expired, so you can't eat it. Besides, the weather is getting warmer, and the peanut brittle will melt."

Seeing the girl like this, I can't help but marvel at how mature, grown up, and sensible she has become.

After talking with her mother, Zeng Min went to find her older and younger brothers and told them to wait for her to let her know that Tu Mingcheng would find them jobs so they could go to the city.

That way, it can also help me with some things.

……

Zeng Min and Tu Mingcheng had just returned home when they rushed to the old house to neatly organize the dried vegetables, dried mushrooms, and other dried goods that they had personally dried.

In addition, they also brought their own live chickens, intending to take them to the city to enjoy.

By the time everything was settled, night had fallen.

Tu Mingcheng went out again to say goodbye to his parents. When he returned, Zeng Min was already fast asleep.

The next morning, the sun shone brightly, streaming into the room through the window.

After waking up, Zeng Min lay quietly in bed, listening to the cheerful chirping of birds in the countryside. A feeling of reluctance welled up in her heart; she felt a deep attachment to this village.

The scenery outside the window was picturesque, refreshing and delightful. Zeng Min sighed softly, got out of bed, prepared her things, and went to wait for the bus.

There's only one bus a week on this road; if you miss it, you'll have to wait until next week.

Chaoyang Commune was a poor and remote place, far from the county seat. The county bus only came once a week. It would stop at the terminal station on the first day and return to the county from the terminal station on the second day.

Because of the long distance, steep mountain roads, and muddy roads, the car dares not travel on rainy days.

If it rains for a week straight, the bus won't come to this remote area for a week. If it rains for a month straight, the bus won't come for two months because the roads are washed away by the rain and the buses won't dare to run until the roads are repaired.

Not to mention the areas without roads. The Banzhulin Brigade is two kilometers away from the highway.

So Zeng Min and the others had to carry their things for two kilometers to the roadside to wait for the bus.

The shuttle bus arrived last night and is now at the terminal. To get to the county from the terminal, you need to go through Banzhulin Brigade first, and then to Chaoyang Commune.

It takes about ten hours to reach the county town, passing through four or five more communes. Nowadays, very few people go to the county town, and most of the time there are seats available on the bus.

After Anlin and his two older brothers said their goodbyes, Tu's parents escorted them to the roadside to wait for their ride. During the walk, Tu's mother gave them many detailed instructions.

The topics revolved around having children, getting along well, and living life to the fullest.

When Zeng Min and the others arrived at the roadside, the car had just arrived. The group quickly loaded the things into the car, and once they were seated, the driver called out, "All done, let's go!"

The driver seemed to recognize Tu Mingcheng and said to him, "Mingcheng, is that your wife? Why don't you let her sit in the front of the car? It's not as bumpy there."

Tu Mingcheng: "Aren't there people in front? Let's call her to the front when there's an empty seat."

The driver waved his hand and said, "Hey, this is my relative. He's going to Chaoyang Commune. He can go to the back. Your wife, please get in."

Then he looked at the young man behind him. "You go to the back. You're on a short trip, they're on a long trip. Aren't you afraid of the bumpy ride?"

The young man didn't say anything and went to the back. Tu Mingcheng went to the back seat to pick up Anlin; the car was swaying, and he was afraid that Minmin would fall and hurt herself.

When they arrived at Chaoyang Commune, several more people got on the bus.

Zeng Min gets carsick, and since it was cold, she opened the windows.

Tu Mingcheng held An Lin in his arms and sat in the seat next to the driver, chatting with the driver while occasionally turning his head to look at Zeng Min, who was fast asleep.

Worried that she might fall or bump into something while the car was bumping around, he gently adjusted his position to make the child in his arms as comfortable as possible.

Seeing this, the driver couldn't help but tease, "Look at how carefully you're handling this, is this your new wife? I've never seen you so doting on her before! But then again, with a bigger age gap, she definitely knows how to be more considerate and caring. Tell me, you old ox, you're really lucky to have such tender grass to eat, aren't you?"

Upon hearing this, Tu Mingcheng gave a helpless smile, but still replied seriously, "Don't talk nonsense. Don't I have to take care of my wife?"

"Hey, now you can finally have a wife, kids, and a warm bed..."

……

When Zeng Min woke up and saw that Tu Mingcheng was driving, she was a little confused. The driver in front of her said, "Mingcheng's wife, you're awake. Your husband is a better driver than me. This part of the road is difficult, so I let him drive. It's good that you're awake. We'll be in the county town in about an hour."

Zeng Min nodded woodenly: "Oh, okay."

Before Zeng Min could react, the jolting motion of the uneven road jolted her awake.

Turning to look out the window, Zhenming was so frightened that he almost lost his mind, and blurted out a curse: "Damn it, you scared me half to death!"

Zeng Min was so frightened that she patted her chest repeatedly. She saw that her seat was next to a steep cliff. A little further ahead, there was a low-lying area. As soon as the front wheels of the bus moved forward, the bus veered towards the edge of the cliff at an extremely slow speed.

Given Zeng Min's seat position, she couldn't see the road surface. When the car veered, she could see the steep slope directly. Zhen Ming thought the car was slowly falling off the cliff, so wasn't she startled?

Tu Mingcheng didn't dare to be distracted while driving this stretch of road, and the driver next to him saw that Zeng Min was frightened.

He quickly reassured her, "It's alright, I'm experienced driving this route, nothing will happen, just drive slowly."

Zeng Min was a little embarrassed: "I'm fine. I just woke up and was a little scared. I'll be fine after a while, haha."

She had ridden in this car twice before, but she had just woken up and her mind was a little sluggish, so she was only a little frightened when she saw the thrilling scene.

However, riding in this vehicle is quite tiring. You have to stay alert at all times and observe the road conditions. If there is any real danger, you have to jump out of the vehicle as soon as possible.

At least there was a glimmer of hope for survival. If he hadn't jumped, although he wouldn't have been smashed to pieces, he wouldn't have had a chance to live either.

After sitting for about an hour with trepidation, the bus arrived at the county station.

(I have personal experience with this. In the early 2000s, when I went to school from my village to the county, although it wasn't a dirt road, it was still uneven, full of potholes, with a steep slope on the left and weeds and rocks on the right. If the car veered even slightly, you could reach out the window and touch the weeds and the adjacent dirt slope.)

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